EU for Natura 2000 in Serbia

The project “EU for Natura 2000 in Serbia” was conceived to promote and reinforce the implementation of the Natura 2000 network in Serbia and as a tool to strengthen capacities and support the authorities of the Republic of Serbia in the area of nature conservation. This two-year project started in May 27th, 2019.

One of the main and important requirements that accession countries have to prepare regarding the Natura 2000 network is a list of sites designated by each country in the framework of two European directives: the Birds and the Habitats Directives. This project, through five big results, provided to the Republic of Serbia the first list of potential sites Natura 2000 (SPAs and SCIs) with an information data system, database and GIS for Natura 2000, along with the harmonization of Serbian legislation with the EU Directives related to nature protection, technical and administrative capacity building in the implementation of nature protection legislation, and a public awareness campaign.

Gathering data for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network

The project “Obtaining data and other services for establishment of the ecological network of the European Union Natura 2000 as part of the ecological network of the Republic of Serbia” is implemented by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, assisting the Ministry of Environmental Protection in performing specific activities to increase the information regarding the species in Serbia listed in the Annexes. With the collaboration of several national experts, this project, having developed two different phases in 2019 and 2020, is collecting data and is providing other services related to habitat types and individual groups of organisms of flora and fauna, as well as birds species, to support the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the Republic of Serbia.

Establishment of ecological network in the Republic of Serbia

The project “Establishment of ecological network in the Republic of Serbia” is coordinated by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia in collaboration of the Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province and scientific institutions, which assists the Ministry of Environmental Protection in performing the following activities: Identification and mapping of habitat types in Serbia; Collection and evaluation of the existing data; Research; Establishment of GIS; Preparing the manual for the identification of habitat types, habitats and species; Mapping of habitat types for identification of pSCI; Identifying criteria for selection of ecologically important areas and ecological corridors; establishing criteria for the selection of Natura 2000 sites (SPA and pSCI). Three project phases were implemented from 2015 to 2020 with successful results, as well as the enriching of the biodiversity database of Serbia, and the definition of values of the Ecological Network.

Development of the Red Book for the Republic of Serbia

Red lists and Red Books are integrative publications presenting the characteristics of species or groups of species that are endangered at the national, regional or global levels. Red Lists and Red Books of endangered wild species with the sites of their occurrence, population size and degree of threat are determined by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, following the proposal of the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, and in cooperation with other professional and scientific institutions. Red Lists usually precede Red Books, and from the first list published in 1990-91 further updates carried on. Nowadays, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, in collaboration with scientific institutions and with the support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implementing the project “Development of the Red Book of Plants, Animals and Fungi in the Republic of Serbia” through different phases and results. In 2015, the first two Red Books of vertebrate fauna were published: The Red Book of Fauna of Serbia I – Amphibians and The Red Book of Fauna of Serbia II – Reptiles. The Red Book of Fauna of Serbia III – Birds was published in 2017. And at the end of 2018, the Red Data Book of Fauna of Serbia IV – Orthoptera was published. It is planned to continue publishing the rest of the groups of animals and plants in the coming years.

The project, coordinated by the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, is currently collecting data to produce Red Lists of algae, mosses, vascular plants, individual groups of invertebrates, and fish, mammals, lichens and fungi.

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